Latécoère 380

The Latécoère 380 was a flying boat airplane built in France in 1928 for use on Aéropostale's mail routes to South America. The plane later saw military service as a maritime patrol aircraft.

Latécoère 380
Role Flying boat mail plane
National origin France
Manufacturer Latécoère
First flight 24 August 1930
Primary user Aéropostale
Number built 5

It was a conventional flying boat design with a parasol wing braced to sponsons on the fuselage sides, and two engines mounted in a tandem push-pull pair. In September 1931, it was used to set six world seaplane records, including three speed-with-load-over-distance records and a closed circuit distance-with-load record of 2,208 km (1,372 mi). A second mail plane was constructed soon afterwards, with the three military examples following in 1934.

Variants
  • Latécoère 380 - mailplane version (2 built)
  • Latécoère 381 - maritime patrol version (3 built). Armed with twin 7.5 mm Darne machine guns in three positions, and 300 kg (660 lb) of bombs on underwing racks.

Unbuilt variants
  • Latécoère 382 - tandem Hispano engines, weights and performance similar to Latécoère 381.
  • Latécoère 383 - 'Un Hydravion d'exploration', with reduced span and wing area and four 350 hp Gnome-Rhône 7Kd engines mounted fore and aft of the wing in tandem pairs. The cabin was enlarged and fitted out as living quarters.
  • Latécoère 383 bis - The Latécoère 383 fitted with Latécoère 381 wings.
  • Latécoère 384 - The designation of the Latécoère 383 fitted with four 350 hp Hispano-Suiza 9Qa engines.
  • Latécoère 384 bis - The designation of the Latécoère 383 bis fitted with four 350 hp Hispano-Suiza 9Qa engines.
  • Latécoère 385 - The designation of the Latécoère 383/4 fitted with three 500 hp Gnome-Rhône 9Kbr engines, two tractor and one pusher in wing mounted nacelles.
  • Latécoère 386 - The designation of the Latécoère 381 fitted with three 700 hp Gnome-Rhone 14Kbr engines, two tractor and one pusher in wing mounted nacelles.

Operators
 France

Specifications (Laté 380)
Laté 380 3-view drawing from NACA Aircraft Circular No.136

General characteristics

  • Crew: Three
  • Length: 17.20 m (61 ft 5 in)
  • Wingspan: 31.40 m (103 ft 0 in)
  • Wing area: 130.0 m2 (1,400 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 5,475 kg (12,070 lb)
  • Gross weight: 9,475 kg (20,889 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs , 511 kW (685 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 209 km/h (130 mph, 110 kn)
  • Range: 4,000 km (2,190 mi, 1,900 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 4,700 m (15,400 ft)

References
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 564.
  • aviafrance.com
  • Уголок неба
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